Regrets
by Caraanime
Summary: After all these years of suffering and sacrifice, Alice and Amelia have everything...except each other. Previous title: "The Piano, The Strings" other pervious title: "Lines" Human AU, takes place in current time; but since Alice is in it it will seem older.
1. Chapter 1

"Miss Jones?" the hostess whispered softly to her. "We will be landing shortly."

She slowly gained consciousness, opening her deep blue eyes gradually. She lowered her head to cover her face with tastefully curled amber hair. After thanking the woman she dismissed her, wanting to be alone. Lifting her head, she observed the high-tech, futuristic, first-class cabin she sat in. Gracefully and meticulously, she stretched her body against the seat, minding not to crinkle her delicate, gold chiffon dress. She glanced out the window of the plane emotionlessly, the twinkling lights of the "beautiful" European city unimpressive. A green light indicating that she should prepare for landing pulled her out of her fixed gaze. Leaning back into the seat, she fastened the belt, and moments later felt the plane begin its descent.

Once the plane arrived, she and her luggage made its way into the airport. Once out of the gate, she paused and took a deep breath, inhaling the air of a foreign country.

"Miss Jones, your limousine is ready." an older gentleman, one of her many assistants, walked over to her.

"Very well, I'll be there in a moment." she replied, but remained where she stood. Normally she treated her helpers a lot more warmly, but she was not in the mood to socialize. He let her be, and she took the opportunity to stretch her legs.

The airport was empty. It was late at night- probably somewhere close to 2 am, and most of it was dark. The vendors and shops, all closed; and very few of the gates seemed active. However, she found a large storm window quite a ways down with a perfect view of Paris. It was well worth the walk.

"I'm almost there," she whispered against the moonlit window, as if talking to the city itself.

"I'll see you soon..._Alice.._."

"Alice?" a French accented male voice called out to the garden. "Where are you?"

"I'm here!" she yelled back to him. Alice sat in a wrought iron chair, deep within the maze of the garden, a cup of blueberry flavored tea nestled in her lap. She, surrounded by countless rose, forsythia, hydrangea, and honeysuckle bushes, took delight in having afternoon tea away from the house and it's many servants. Francis knew better than to interrupt her, so she knew something important must have come up.

"There you are, finally..." a voice sighed behind her. After taking a sip of the tea, she turned slightly and nodded at him, acknowledging his presence. He sat down beside her, taking a deep inhale of the sweet smell around them. They sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the echoes of spraying water and the chirps of birds.

"Is there something you needed?" she finally asked him. The silence was comfortable, but she still wished to be left alone.

"Well... yes. But I'm not sure how you will react to what I have to say..."

"Oh, Just say it." she scoffed at him, surprised that he could, for once, be concerned with her feelings regarding anything he had to say.

"Well... I have heard that an old friend wishes to contact you... I just got a call from Paris saying that people have been asking around about your whereabouts."

Hearing this, she was almost amused...but mostly annoyed. "People asking about me is not unusual, Francis. I don't know why you found this so important you had to tell me during my afternoon tea."

"Well, it's not the people doing the asking that I wanted you to know... it's who's telling them to do the asking."

"_What?_ What in the world do you mean?" she snapped at him. Out of every person she either hated or loved, not a single one has looked for her since her retreat from society. There isn't a person alive that Alice could imagine looking for her... that she'd actually care about, anyway.

Unless..

At the sudden realization, she put her tea on the table and turned to him, trying not to let herself hope. The pupils nestled in her green eyes dilated with intense emotion, she wasn't even sure if what she felt _was_ hope.

"_Francis_..." she started cautiously. "Who is it that's looking for me?"

He looked at her with empathy; his face was all the proof she needed that this was really happening; but she needed to hear it, to make sure it was real. Pausing to prepare himself for her reaction, he took a deep breath and gently spelled out to her a name Alice once thought she'd never hear again.

"...Amelia. Amelia F. Jones."


	2. Chapter 2

Overwhelmed, Alice excused herself and took off without finishing her tea. She walked fast, too embarrassed to be seen running, but eager to be alone. She ignored the many workers, maids, and butlers who crossed her path as she entered the mansion, making a beeline for the stairs to her private rooms.

She scurried up as quietly as possible, trying not to attract attention. Alice reached the top of the stairs and opened the large door there, revealing a grand-ballroom-sized space. Beautiful, intricate, and enormous chandeliers hung from the ceiling, basking the entire room in just the perfect amount of light. The wall opposite to her was full of tall shelves containing thousands of books, every three or so shelves divided by a thin, tall window overlooking the garden. The floors were covered here and there by a few large carpets, but the spaces between them revealed beautiful hardwood.

Gliding into the room, she went to sit in her favorite reading chair. It sat in the corner to her left, old and frumpy, but comfortable. Reaching it, she let herself fall into its warm embrace. After checking to see that she was alone, she let her calm exterior go as a multitude of thoughts assaulted her brain.

_Why now? Why is she coming to find me? She and I haven't seen each other in years! How should I react to this? Should I be happy? Nervous? Angry...? Scared...?_

Unable to stop herself, she got up and rushed over to the large chest on the opposite side of the room. The ancient wood creaked angrily beneath her feet, as if yelling at her to stop, but she did not pause in her advancement. She reached the chest, bent down in front of it, and took her necklace out of her blouse; a small silver paracentric key attached to it. She placed it in the lock and, working against years of non-use, forced it to turn until she heard a click. She tucked the necklace back in and lifted the chest open. After lifting a few papers and rearranging some items, she found what she was looking for: a picture, in a small wooden frame, of her and Amelia. She picked it up, and the memory of the picture being taken filled her mind.

The year was 1993; each girl had just turned 19. Both were dressed formally, as they were attending a "practice conference" for all of the business majors at their school. They were walking to their seats when Francis, who had just purchased a new camera, decided to take a picture of the pair without warning. Their expressions were comical, both staring directly into the camera, and their bodies were posed mid-walk. The three of them, however, decided it was actually a very nice picture; and Amelia decided to let Alice keep it.

Now in her late thirties, Alice felt a bittersweet nostalgia looking at the picture. There were so many memories from those days, good and bad.

_So much has changed since then, though... _she thought. The smile that had graced her face turned into a grimace, and the light in her eyes faded. Not wanting to recall unpleasant things, she put the picture back inside and slammed the top down, not bothering to re-lock it. She stood there, arms folded, looking down at the chest. For some reason, she didn't have any motivation to move away from it. After a while she lifted her head and looked through the window, her gaze falling on the garden. She remembered she left her tea outside, but didn't entertain the thought of going back out to get it.

She finally turned away, breaking her stance to walk over to her bedroom. Once inside, she locked the door behind her and shed her outer layer of clothes. She climbed into her bed and buried herself in the covers, curling into a ball. It was too early to sleep, but she desperately needed to rest. She laid there in the dark for a few hours, thinking of Amelia. _I cannot go back to that now.. _she thought sadly. _Just leave it alone, leave it alone... _she pleaded with herself over and over, until sleep overcame her.

_"Alice? Alice, where are you?"_

_...Who is it thats calling me? _Alice heard the voice, but couldn't open her eyes to see who it was.

_"Alice... Alice. Where did you go? __Why did you leave me here!?"_

The voice sounded more desperate now, and Alice became frightened. She tried opening her mouth but she couldn't feel her face. She wanted to ask the voice who it was.

Suddenly, out of the black, Alice began to see a dim light. She could feel and move her body again.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Alice called, moving toward the light. As she got closer she saw that it was square shaped. Her body began running now, and Alice felt she was not fully in control of her actions. She called out again, "Hello!? Who was it that was calling me?"

As she ran, Alice realized the square was actually a room. She began to recognize it as the girls bathroom from her junior year of college. She eventually made her way into the room and found herself enclosed in it, the blackness gone; now replaced by a wall. She heard a whisper from one of the shower stalls.

_"Alice... come back. I promise it will be okay. I promise..."_

Alice followed the voice, and opened the curtain to the shower. There stood Amelia, her face wet with tears, her back to the corner of the stall. She looked at Alice, and took a step towards her. Amelia was moving her mouth as if she were talking, but Alice couldn't hear what she was saying.

_This looks so familiar..._ Alice tried to remember why, but suddenly Amelia took another step forward, their faces now a few inches apart. Alice tried to ask her what she was doing, but she couldn't move her body anymore. She felt her own head lean forward, and saw Amelia close her eyes and tilt her head to the side. Their lips were about to touch when everything stopped.

"ALICE!"

"AHHHHH!" Alice screamed and bolted upright to see Francis sitting beside her on the bed. Realizing where she was, she hastily used her blanket to cover herself.

"Francis, what the bloody hell is your problem!? And WHY THE BOLLOCKS ARE YOU IN MY ROOM!?"

"CALM DOWN!" Francis yelled back at her, springing up from the bed and backing away, his arms in front of him in surrender. "I was making sure you were alive! It's three in ze afternoon! The maids began to fear you were dead! You never wake up this late!"

"Three?" she questioned, looking at the clock to see he was correct.

"I never wake up this late..."

"Yes, exactly!" Francis exclaimed, obviously exasperated from the drama that has consumed his morning. "I would not have come in here otherwise!"

"Well fine then! But get out!" she rose from the bed to shoo him away, and noticed the door had been knocked off its hinges.

"Francis... what the hell did you do to my door!?"

"Ah..." Francis began, trying to distance himself from her. "Well it was locked and we were all worried," Francis wimpered, but then smiled sheepishy and said, "so I may 'ave had to... how you say, _rearrange_ it so I could get inside?"

"..." Alice had nothing to say. Now she would need to get it fixed, and there would be people in her room, going through her private things...

She felt like strangling him, but took a deep breath, and decided it was her fault for causing him to worry.

"You know what? I don't care. Leave and let me get dressed, we will have it fixed later." at that, Francis hastily took his leave, leaving Alice to prepare herself for the day.

"Wait!" she cried after him, just as he reached the door to the stairs. He turned back to her, wondering what she could want.

She paused for a moment, then meekly said, "Um. Thank you, for... making sure I wasn't dead."

"Oh, ah, your welcome?" He said, surprised by her gratitude. He turned back and headed down the stairs, shutting the door behind him. Alice smiled to herself. Though they fought and he got on her nerves constantly, she really did appreciate having him around.


End file.
